Family Raises $500K in 15 Days to Research Daughter’s Deadly Disease

Dr. Cara O'Neill shows points out the climbing numbers on the online fundraiser her family started to fund a cure for their daughter's deadly genetic disease. Eliza, 4, doesn't know what it means, but her parents are astounded.

Eliza has Sanfilippo syndrome type A, a rare genetic disorder that causes a deadly buildup of heparin sulfate in her cells. Soon, Eliza will lose the ability to speak, her parents say. After that, she’ll lose the ability to walk and then she’ll develop seizures.

Most children with Sanfilippo type A don’t live far into their teens.

Courtesy ONeill Family

PHOTO: Sanfilippo syndrome has no obvious physical signs at first, but over time, children lose their ability to speak and walk and develop seizures.

All forms of Sanfillipo affect one in 70,000 births, according to the National Institutes of Health.

“Stories like this tug at our heartstrings,” said Mary Dunkle, a spokeswoman for the National Organization for Rare Diseases, explaining how funding for rare disease research is famously hard to obtain. “Most rare diseases are severe diseases or even life-threatening. On top of that, you have to feel responsible for finding treatment for a loved one or child. It just can almost be overwhelming. But we see families all the time really driving remarkable progress.”

PHOTO:Researchers at Nationwide Children's Hospital think they have a possible gene therapy cure, but they've never tried it in humans. The O'Neills are raising money to go toward the first human clinical trial, and they hope that Eliza will be selected.

That’s where the O’Neills and other Sanfilippo parents come in. They hope a pair of researchers will find a cure before the end of the year.

The researchers, Doug McCarty and Haiyan Fu of Nationwide Children’s hospital in Columbus, Ohio, have been working on a cure for about 16 years. They’ve found a gene therapy treatment that works in mice, and they hope to try it in humans. But setting up a clinical trial takes money – about $2 million that they don’t have.

“From a parent perspective, until someone comes in and tells us a big company is going to pay for it, a hospital, or the government, we are left to go out and do it ourselves,” Glenn O’Neill said in. “There is no other choice. I think that is why people are connecting with this video and story.”

Courtesy ONeill Family

PHOTO: Eliza O'Neill has a rare genetic disorder called Sanfilippo syndrome that will render her mute in six months and unable to walk in two years if researchers can't come up with a cure.

When 5K charity runs weren’t bringing in money fast enough, Glenn O’Neill said he googled “how to make a viral video.” With a bit of help from filmmaker Benjamin Von Wong, the O’Neills launched their video earlier this month. They hope to raise $1 million on their GoFundMe.com page in addition to the money coming in from local fundraisers.